It Is What It Is
by spazzgirl
Summary: things were unresolved between the two and now must be confronted. This is for all the NaruSaku fans who were feeling devastated, I dedicate this to you guys! Semi-OOC and somewhat canon. This is an alternate ending for NaruSaku fans ONLY.
1. Chapter 1

**It Is What It Is**

**Hey guys, Spazzgirl here with a brand new spankin NaruSaku fic. Yes Naruto has finally ended and NaruHina and SasuSaku have been confirmed canon. Though so many things were left unresolved and was very rushed. Though I am happy for the NaruHina and SasuSaku fandom, this is a fanfic that I am writing and will be solely NaruSaku. **

**The reason why I wanted to write this was to give an alternate ending but for NaruSaku. I wanted to put my whole spin on how I believe Naruto should have ended if NaruSaku was endgame. I am not denying the fact that my pairing is nothing more than fantasy, but when something is fantasy we can have endless imagination. When our fantasy is finally real, it's like a "then what situation." **

**One of the unresolved situation I am using for this chapter is:**

**The Promise of a Lifetime**

**The lifelong promise that Naruto has finally fulfilled has been pushed aside, and that is what makes me unhappy. I wanted Kishimoto to bring it up and see just HOW grateful Sakura was that he manage to keep his promise.**

**Disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, the ending would be COMPLETELY different**

**Summary:** things were unresolved between the two and now must be confronted

**By the way, I got inspired by the song "It Is What It Is" by Lifehouse, which I think it's the perfect song for this story**

**ENJOY!**

Emerald eyes finally spotted the two familiar figures laying on the ground.

Her heart race quicken as she saw them and immediately dashed over when she saw the blood. Hastily and in medic ninja mode, she began to pour chakra into her hands so she could heal their wounds.

"Thanks Sakura-chan," came the groggy voice of her blonde haired teammate.

"Sakura…I…"

Looking down, she refused to look at him. "Don't…I need to concentrate."

"I'm sorry," Sasuke apologized.

She wanted to scoff at him but instead held it in. "Sorry? For what?"

"For everything I've done."

"You'd better…Geez." Both Sasuke and Naruto looked her with gentle smiles on their faces. "You are so much trouble…Stupid…"

Naruto's heart was aching, he never liked it when Sakura cried. "Hey Sakura-chan," sniffling a bit the rosette looked up, she was met with a grinning face, "My promise of a lifetime. I brought him back just like I promised."

Fighting back the tears that were building up, she held them back, and gave the blonde haired shinobi a small and gentle smile. "Thank you, Naruto," she gently brushed the strands of hair away from his face, "thank you, for everything."

With that, the whiskered face man fell asleep with a smile on his face. Sasuke couldn't help but chuckle a bit, which earned him a playful (more like aggressive) punch on the shoulder.

"Ow, what the hell was that for."

"Don't laugh at him," Sakura growled.

The last Uchiha couldn't help but laugh a bit. "Never thought I'd see the day you'd defend him." He smiled a bit.

"Well after everything he's done, I'd thought that I tried to return the favor."

"Hmm," Sasuke hummed softly, "I think he deserves more than a simple thank you," he whispered softly.

"Did you say something?" The rosette could've sworn she heard him mutter something.

"No," he said and looked up in the sky. _"Thank you Naruto, for bringing me back into the light."_

It took a while for everything to get back to normal. There were still buildings that needed to repair alongside the lives of those that took part of the war.

"How's the arm," Sakura asked the blonde as he was toying with it.

"Hmm," he was looking at the prosthetic arm strangely, "feels weird."

The rosette sighed a bit and placed her hands on her hips. "Well that's what you get when you two use your most powerful moves on each other." Naruto couldn't help but grin and rub the back of his neck. "Then again, doing stupid mistakes is something only _you_ would do."

"Oi, Sasuke did the same thing."

"Okay," she giggled a bit, "It's something stupid the two of you would do."

Naruto smiled a bit, walking over to the small bag that held his clothes, he began to search for something.

"You know Sasuke is leaving today."

"I know," she looked down.

"You'd think he'd stay for a while after what happened."

"Yeah," the rosette softly whispered.

"Found it," she jumped a bit as his loud voice. She wasn't able to catch a good glimpse of what he put in his pocket. Turning around a bit, he smiled at her. "Want to say goodbye?"

The two were surprised to find Kakashi already at the gates. Greeting each other, Naruto leaned against the one of the trees further down. Once Sasuke arrived, Kakashi and the last Uchiha exchanged a few words, after that, he walked up to Sakura.

"I want to go with you Sasuke-kun," she blurted out.

Smiling a bit, he walked up to her and placed a gentle hand on her head. "I'll be back soon, besides," he spoke with a much softer tone so only Sakura could hear, "I'm sure he needs you more than I do. And didn't you tell me that you wanted to return the favor to Naruto?"

After walking away from the rosette, Sasuke finally met up with Naruto.

Reaching into his pocket, the blonde stretched out his hand. "Here, I'm returning this to you."

"I'll keep this until…We really settle things between us." Sasuke reached out.

The two smiled as Sasuke's old headband was being held by the both of them.

Naruto smiled as he watched his brother walk away. Sasuke stopped a couple feet in front of him and turned his head. "Oi dobe," the blonde couldn't help but grin a bit, "make sure you tell Sakura about what you think about her forehead."

Cerulean eyes widened as the black haired figure was leaving. "TEME!" Sasuke couldn't help but chuckle and waved as he continued to walk. "Bastard, can't believe he found out about that." He said under his breath.

"Naruto is everything okay," Sakura asked worriedly.

He laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his neck. "Nope, everything is fine Sakura-chan. Come on, let's get some ramen, cause I'm starvin'." With that, the two of them ran back to the village.

Kakashi couldn't help but smile as the two ran off. Looking up the sky he said, "Hopefully everything will be alright between the two of them." He smiled under his mask as he saw two doves fly by, "Maybe those two will exceed in what the previous Team 7 couldn't."

**END**

**I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter of this fic. I have a lot of things outlined and planned out for this story. Remember, I am writing this for you, the NaruSaku fandom. Please if you are a NaruHina and SasuSaku fans, please do not leave any mean reviews. **

**Be warned, most chapters will be short, see you all in the next one!**


	2. Chapter 2

**It Is What It Is**

**Holy crap guys, thank you for all the reviews, favorites, and follows for this story. To be honest, I was scared shitless when I posted the first chapter, because I wasn't expecting much. But THANK YOU GUYS!**

**I'm really happy that I could make a lot of NaruSaku fans happy with the first chapter, now onto the review replies:**

**Guest: This story is just not solely focusing on chapter 699, I am planning doing my OWN complete ending. So this story is covering both chapter 699 and 700.**

**Tgms177: Kishimoto played it EXTREMELY safe and just completely pulled the ending out of his own ass. To me, all the characters felt extremely OOC to me, for some reason Naruto just didn't feel like the Naruto I grew up to know and love. Though apparently from what I heard, we are getting some sort of chapter update next week IDK if its real or not.**

**Disclaimer: If I was goddamn Kishimoto, Naruto would have ended a lot different than it already did**

**Here are some unresolved things I will be addressing in this chapter:**

**The forehead scene**

**Naruto's confrontation of Hinata's confession**

**How Hinata deals with Neji's death**

**And other things that I don't know LOL**

**I will give you all a fair warning that there will be many time skips with this story, it's just so it can help it move a long a bit faster, and so other things can be resolved.**

**Also if you have the time, please check out my newest NaruSaku one-shot "You'll be Alright."**

**ENJOY!**

Sakura wiped the sweat on her forehead as she finished helping Tsunade with the last patient. It was a young four year old girl that was having trouble breathing. Apparently she had too much debris in her lungs and had to clean it out. Despite a near whole month the war was over, people were still trying to rebuild their lives.

"I'm going to check up on Naruto shishou," the rosette called out.

The blonde medic nin turned around, "Oh about that, he won't be coming in for his checkup."

Sakura just froze, "What do you mean?"

"He didn't tell you," the fifth Hokage's apprentice just tilted her head in confusion, "apparently he's leaving for Suna today."

With that, Sakura quickly ran out of the hospital and on her way to her blonde's team mate's apartment. As she made a quick turn, she bumped into someone, causing both of them to fall onto the ground.

"Ow," the second person groaned.

"Sorry," Sakura said under her breath. Looking up, emerald eyes widened in surprise. "HINATA!" The rosette got up and stretched out her hand to help the Hyuuga heiress up. "I am so sorry."

"It's alright Sakura-san," the violet haired girl giggled as she got up, "you look like you're in a hurry."

"Yeah, Naruto is leaving for Suna."

"Oh yes, he is. He did tell me he was leaving."

Sakura frowned, she hadn't expected the blonde knucklehead to actually talk to the shy girl.

Hinata could feel how upset Sakura was feeling, "I'm surprised he didn't tell you." She paused for a moment, "Well I just found out an hour ago."

"Really," now she was curious, "did he want to speak to you or something?"

"Oh yes," Hinata said softly, "he wanted to confront me about my confession."

"Oh," Sakura didn't know if she wanted to feel jealous or happy for the young princess. "What did he say?"

"Well," the violet girl began.

_Flashback an hour ago_

_Hinata was happily walking alongside Kiba, the Inuzuka had tagged alongside the Hyuuga heiress as they visited Neji's grave. _

"_Hinata," the young woman looked up and saw Naruto running towards her. "Hey," he said breathlessly as he tried to regain his breath._

"_Na-Naruto-kun," Hinata was surprised that he was talking to her._

"_Hinata," she looked at her team mate, "I'm going to wait for you by the tea shop."_

_She nodded her head at the brown haired male, and watched as he and his faithful companion, Akamaru, head over to the small tea shop a few feet away._

"_Was there something you want to talk to me about?"_

"_Yes, I'm heading over to Suna for a month."_

"_You are," Hinata was surprised that the blonde was already leaving._

"_Yeah, I wanted to speak to you before I left" Naruto cleared his throat, "it's about what you said when Pein was about to extract Kurama from me."_

"_Oh," she didn't think that he would actually remember her confession._

"_It's about your confession," he took a small step towards her, "Hinata look, I-I.."_

_Hinata placed a gentle hand on his chest, right above his heart, "You don't need to say anything else Naruto." The blonde was surprised she dropped the suffix on his name. "I've always acknowledged you and watched you get stronger. It was because of you I was able to stand on my own two feet." She took a deep breath. "I always thought what I had for you was love, but in fact was just admiration. Just watching you being able to hold your ground gave me strength." She gave him a small smile. "Despite being encouraged by you, Neji still died. His death gave me a meaning, that, I should walk a path that I can follow and keep up." Hinata looked down. She took another deep breath and looked at Naruto with confidence, "Though the war is over, I am going to continue to get stronger and become more confident, so that one day when I will become clan leader, I will change everything. I am not going to let Neji's death mean nothing to me. I am not going to go back to the way I was before."_

"_Hinata," the blonde felt himself admired by the usual shy girl._

"_I know that is the path that I want to take because it will help me become someone who I am meant to be." She gave the Uzumaki male a small pained smile. "So you see Naruto, I won't allow you to try to force yourself to make me happy by allowing me to walk beside you. You see the strides you take are too long for me to follow." Removing her hand away from his chest, Hinata looked up at the sky, looked back at her childhood crush and smiling. "I understand that I am not the person who is destined to be by your side. It is someone else, that person who has been with you through thick and thin. That same person who struggled beside you, suffered alongside you, cried beside you, and laughed beside you."_

"_Sakura-chan," he breathed out._

_Hinata smiled, "Yes, she's really the only person who is worthy of you." Her smile dropped a bit, "To be honest, I always thought I would be the one to be by your side when you become Hokage. Even if we aren't mean to be, I'm perfectly fine with being your friend." This time she gave him a real smile. "Besides, I found someone who has always been by side, but I was too blind to see."_

"_Hinata," Naruto said softly._

"_You should go see Sakura-san before you leave, I'm sure she'd be upset if you didn't."_

"_Yeah," he rubbed the back of his neck, "she'd kill me if I didn't." As he started to walk away he looked back, "Hinata," she looked up, "thanks."_

_The Hyuuga heiress gave him a soft smile. "You're welcome."_

_Flashback end_

"Hinata," the rosette didn't know what to say.

"I didn't want him to try to learn to love someone, when he already has someone he truly loves."

"What are you saying," Sakura was very confused at the moment.

The violet haired girl just giggled, "And I thought that Naruto was the dense one." The other female blushed. "I'm sure you'll understand one day Sakura-san. Although you better look for him before he leaves."

"Yeah you're right, see you later Hinata." The rosette took off again.

The Hyuuga heiress couldn't help but smile at the retreating figure. "You really are the only one that can truly make him happy."

* * *

><p>A tall blonde haired man could be seen standing on top of the Hokage mountain. Cerulean eyes scanning over the village that he grew up. A village that once resented him because he was the jinchuurki of the nine tailed demon, but now they praised him as a war hero.<p>

"NARUTO," the blonde winced as he heard his team mate calling out to him.

"Sa-Sakura-chan, what are you doing here?" Kami he was nervous right now.

Taking menacing steps towards him, she grabbed him by the collar of his jacket. "Why didn't you tell me you were leaving?"

"I was gonna."

"Oh yeah?" She growled, "When?"

"Once I got down."

The rosette put him down gently. "I'm sorry, it's just that when Sasuke-kun left, I felt like I was going to be alone."

"You're not alone, you have Kakashi-sensei and me."

Emerald eyes looked up with pain. "Yeah, but your leaving me." She whispered softly.

Naruto felt his heart ache, he never meant to hurt her. "I'm sorry."

"If you're sorry, then, I'm coming with you," she said with confidence.

"No," Naruto said sternly, "I'm sorry Sakura-chan, but I can't take you with me."

"First Sasuke-kun, and now you, why are you two leaving me behind _again_." The blonde winced, he never meant to cause any pain towards the rosette. "I didn't train with Tsunade-sama just so I could watch your backs again. I'm strong now, strong now to stand beside the both of you. Do you think I'm that weak Naruto?"

"No," he placed both of his hands on her shoulder, "not once did I ever take you for a weak girl Sakura-chan."

"Then why can't I go with you, tell me Naruto." Tears were falling down her face.

He looked away, "It's just there are things I need to deal with."

"Then stay here, we'll deal with them together, like how we always do, as a team!"

"Sakura-chan," he sighed, "this is something I have to deal with alone."

"Why Suna?"

Naruto just chuckled, "Change of scenery I guess. Besides I need that monstrous strength of yours to help keep this village safe.

"You idiot," before she could lay a punch on him, the blonde caught her fist.

Daringly, he placed a kiss on her forehead. "I've always wanted to kiss a forehead that was charming as yours." He whispered against her forehead.

Sakura blushed, and before she could say anything, the blonde quickly jumped off the head of the Yondaime, and out of nowhere landed on the back of Kurama.

"See ya soon Sakura-chan, protect the village while I'm gone," he shouted on the back of an Akamaru sized Kurama.

The rosette just shook her head. "That idiot," she smiled as she watched him leave. "You better come back you baka." She shouted.

"I will, IT'S A PROMISE OF A LIFETIME. DATTEBAYO!"

**END**

**Annnnd here's the second chapter of this fic. I hope I didn't let you all down with this chapter. Seriously I hated the way Sakura became at the end of the series, a freaking housewife?! Girl you did not train with one of the strongest kuonichi, and punch a god to become a goddamn housewife. I mean, I seriously wanted to see her with braids and wearing a medical ninja robe!**

**Anyways I hoped you all enjoyed this chapter. **


	3. Chapter 3

**It Is What It Is**

**WAAAAAAAAAH YOU GUISE ARE MAKING ME CRY AND HAPPY AT THE SAME TIME!**

**Seriously I didn't expect soo many people to enjoy this fic. After coming out with the second chapter, I was like "Oh god why did I feel like I literally screw up. OMG will people stop reading this?" I seriously didn't expect soo much positive feedback from you guys *cries***

**I'm soo happy that many people liked how I dealt with Hinata's character in the second chapter. Like no doubt, I thought I did a horrible job and wanted to bash my head against the wall and then dig myself into a hole. You guys are making me feel soo much welcome in the NaruSaku community, because I haven't done shit in like ages. **

**Let's do some review replies!**

**KyaNika: I'm so happy that this fic is making it easier for you and the rest of the NS fandom to say goodbye to our favorite knucklehead. To be honest, I was scared SHITLESS on how I was going to deal with Hinata. I'm not much a fan of her, but I don't hate her. I wanted to give the girl some closure. **

**Wolf91000: gotta have some romantic drama, since this story is under drama. I'm glad you're enjoying this story so far. I have most things planned, but some things haven't been outlined, but I am trying to fit them into the story so I can get a nice flow.**

**Ahmadaziz: I wanted to have some interaction with the other characters, instead of just having them randomly show at the end. For me, each character is important and will play a significant role in this story. I am also glad that you are enjoying the pacing of this story. Most of the time, my stories lack good pacing, so I don't want to rush into things so quickly.**

**Somilmish: I have always been a big fan of KibaHina. IDK why but they somewhat remind me of NaruSaku (though I have a soft spot for SasuHina XD). I wanted to make sure I gave her the perfect closure without making her get too much OOC, which is hard especially with a character that doesn't get a lot of screen time. And for the NaruSaku kids, oh don't you worry about their names ;D.**

**Disclaimer: I FUCKING DON'T OWN NARUTO, SO LEAVE ME ALONE!**

**The issue this chapter will be resolving is:**

**TEAM TAKA!**

**To be honest, I didn't plan to put this team into the story, but I love Karin alongside the SasuKarin pairing. Though honestly I hate the fact that this group was never mentioned again. Seriously they were like Sasuke's third family, I really love the relationship Sasuke had with Jugo *cries into oblivion*. **

**ENJOY!**

It took the lone Uchiha a few days, but he was finally here.

Otogakure

He stood in front of the base that he, Karin, and Suigetsu had found Jugo. Sasuke had a feeling that all three of them were there. The moment he took a step, a voice called out to him.

"Sasuke, didn't expect to see you here."

The raven haired male turned around and saw a much taller and larger figure with orange hair. He noticed a couple of birds on his shoulders.

"Jugo, it's good to see you again."

The orange haired male smiled a bit. "What brings you here?"

"Where's Karin and Suigetsu."

"Inside," was the reply Sasuke received.

The moment they stepped in, Sasuke's eyes widened. The once cold and dingy base, had turned into a home.

"We decided to rebuilt it, to suit our needs better." Jugo said as he gently petted one of the birds on his shoulders.

"I see," the Uchiha looked around.

A puddle was on the right side of the raven haired male. It was moving and began to take the form of a male. Two fingers were pointing at the side of Sasuke's head as if a gun was pointed at him.

"Bang," razor sharp teeth grinned.

"It's nice to see you too, Suigetsu."

The white haired man couldn't help but laugh. "AHAHA SASUKE! It feels like you haven't changed at all."

Sasuke turned around and gave him a small smile, this surprised Suigetsu. "Is that so?"

"Man seeing you smile is creepy," he walked towards the table and took a sip out of his water bottle, "so what is it that we owe this surprise visit."

"Where's Karin," Sasuke asked looking around.

The white haired man grinned a bit, "Oh, you don't want to know."

The moment he said this, Sasuke raised a brow. Without a moment to spare, a fist made its way towards the raven haired male, practically sending him through the walls and back into the forest. This caused Suigetsu to laugh and Jugo to sigh a bit.

"Ka-Karin," Sasuke groaned out.

Standing before him was the red haired glasses wearing female of Team Taka.

"Hello, Sasuke-_kun_," she added the suffix mockingly.

"Look I know you're mad at me."

Karin was fuming, her face red with anger. Furiously she grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. "Mad?! You think I'm mad with you! NO. I am down right furious at you. The fact that you actually stabbed me to kill that old man, then proceeded to kill me because you thought I was a burden. I was so stupid to actually forgive you so easily." She growled. "You don't know how long I waited to punch you for what you put me through. I should have made you beg for my forgiveness, but I was just a stupid girl blinded by love. You have no idea about the consequences that were done because of your sins."

"That's why I'm here," he took Karin's hands away from him. "I want all three of you to come with me. A journey to atone for all the sins I've done."

"Sasuke," Jugo stepped towards the two. "You have saved me from my own darkness, so now it's time for me to repay that debt."

"Well," Suigetsu placed his hands on his hips, "I don't have anything else to do, so yeah I'll come with you."

Sasuke smiled and looked at the red haired women in front of him. "How about you Karin."

"I'll go," she glared at him for a bit, "but this doesn't mean I'm going to forgive you so easily Sasuke."

"I'll do whatever it takes to amend things between us." With that, all four left and began their journey.

* * *

><p>A brown haired man was walking towards a training ground. The moment he arrived, he was surprised to see a black haired male, as well as a silver haired man.<p>

"Sai, Kakashi," he said.

"Hello there taichou," Sai smiled.

Kakashi just greeted with a wave. "So you were called here too."

"Yes," Yamato coughed a bit, "I wonder what this is about."

Sai shrugged, "Whatever it is, ugly is late."

A growl could be heard from behind the pale skinned male. "I didn't call you here just so you could mock me."

Sai couldn't help but smile nervously. "Ah sorry about that, but you know old habits die hard."

"Whatever." The rosette glared at him.

"Sakura," she looked up at the wood jutsu user, "was there any particular reason of why you called us here? I'm sure Kakashi-san has to go back to work."

"Ah, not really," the original captain of Team 7 said as he pulled out a green colored book.

"The reason why I called you all here, is to train me."

Sai tilted his head, Yamato's eyes widened, while Kakashi continued reading his book.

"Bu-but why. I mean the war is over, there's no one left for us to fight." Yamato pointed out.

Emerald eyes stared at the ground, "I made a promise to Naruto." Looking back up, her eyes filled with determination. "I made a promise that I would protect the village while he was gone. I also made a promise to myself that I wouldn't become the weak little girl again. I want to continue to get stronger so I can still stand proudly besides both Naruto and Sasuke." All three of them were surprised that she had dropped the suffix for the Uchiha. "I don't want the years of training I had to endure to be in vain. This is my nindo, to stand proudly beside the two and to become one of the strongest kuonichi.

Kakashi closed his book and looked at his student. "I remember the first time I met you Sakura. While you didn't have the physical strength both Sasuke and Naruto had, you had mental strength and perfect chakra control I remember that all you wanted to do was chase Sasuke, but now," he placed a gentle hand on her head. "I see a cherry blossom that is fully blossom but still wants to wants to grow. You're not the same little girl that I first met."

Sakura gave him a smile, "I'm not, I'm going to be Tsunade's successor and surpass her as a medical ninja."

All three of them smiled at this.

"Well then," Kakashi pulled out two silver bells from his pocket. "I want you and Sai to try to get both of these bells from me and Yamato." He tossed the other one to the brown haired male.

"Gladly," Sakura rotated her arm.

"It'll be an honor to receive the same test that both Sakura and Naruto were given."

With that, both Sakura and Sai rushed towards the jounin and the sixth Hokage.

**END**

**I deeply apologize if this chapter was shitty. Like I mentioned before, most chapters weren't outlined and are there to help with the story (somewhat).**

**I didn't want Karin to easily forgive Sasuke (because Sakura had already done that in the manga), I wanted her to show that Uzumaki attitude and have Sasuke work for her forgiveness. I had to look up about Team Taka, so I apologize for any major OOCness especially with Sasuke. **

**I wanted to leave this chapter with the start of Sakura's' training, and what better way than with the bell training. I also felt like this was a good place to re-introduce both Sai and Yamato, like seriously WTF happened with Yamato.**

**Also if some of you have probably heard about a petition being started to ban Naruto in the USA. Now the one thing I hate is that some NaruSaku fans actually started this and are signing it. Seriously I'm disappointed with the people who started this. Yes NaruSaku didn't become canon, but you don't go around starting up a petition to ban someone's lifework. **

**It was because of chapter 700 that I came back to writing NaruSaku, because I've been occupied with satisfying my love for NaLu from Fairy Tail. We all have to accept the fact that Naruto and Sakura didn't end up together, for some of us, it will take much longer to accept it. Though this doesn't give any reasons to start a petition. **

**For those still upset, please go to Tumblr and search the tags for "Shinachiku." He's the reason why so many NS fans on Tumblr are healing and being able to move on. Shinachiku is the OC son for Naruto and Sakura. For more information about him, either go to dattebae or narutos-ass Tumblr page. **


	4. Chapter 4

**It Is What It Is**

**Horey shiat, this story just broke 50 reviews when only the third chapter came out?! You guys, I love you all so much right now gah! I was so happy that many of you were glad that I brought back Team Taka in the story.**

**No review replies for this chapter, why, because this one will act like a filler. I need fillers because I get writers block, which sucks because I had everything planned *runs around like crazy.* **

**Disclaimer: I FUCKING DON'T OWN NARUTO, EVEN I DID, NARUSAKU WOULD HAVE BEEN END GAME, AND SHINACHIKU WOULD HAVE BEEN BORN IN THE CANON WORLD!**

**I literally don't know what issue I will be addressing in this chapter, like I said, it's a filler, that could be relevant? IDK. I will give warning, that most chapters won't have any issues that I will be addressing that the last chapter of Naruto didn't. **

**ENJOY!**

"So, is there any reason why we're heading over to Suna?" Kurama asked as he laid down next to his old host, still in size in which Naruto could ride him.

The blonde was aimlessly looking into the fire he built. This aggravated the nine tailed demon fox. Naruto yelped out as one of the fox's nine tails whacked him.

"Ouch, what the hell was that for?!"

Kurama just rolled his eyes. "I asked you a question."

"Oh," was all Naruto said, "What was the question?"

The fox growled at him. "I said, why, are we heading to Suna, and without sending a message to the raccoon brat."

"I needed to get out of Konoha for a bit." This took Kurama by surprised. He thought his old host would stay back in the village, celebrating his victory. "I have my reasons for why I decided to leave and not tell Gaara that I was heading over to Suna."

"Hmm, could it be because of a certain lass," the fox mused.

Naruto just blushed, "Sakura-chan isn't the problem," he stuttered.

"Ha, I never said it was her," he gave the blonde a sly fox grin. "So it is about that Haruno girl. Want to enlighten me."

"I need to get away from her to help sort out my feelings." Now Kurama was interested. "Ever since I brought back Sasuke, I thought she would be vying for his affection, I mean she made it clear when she asked to go with him."

"What did it make you feel?"

Naruto sighed a bit, "I felt miserable, jealous, and hurt. I mean for once I want Sakura-chan to look at me the way she looks at him."

"She does," the blonde looked at the fox surprised. "You just don't see it, because she does it secretly."

"How the hell do you know?"

"Just because I was inside of you, doesn't mean I don't know what was going on around you."

"I just wish she could love me the way she loves Sasuke." His posture slouching a bit. "I mean, it's selfish of me to want her, but I also want her to be happy."

"Is that why you wanted to talk to that Hyuuga girl?"

"Yeah, I mean I wanted to try to give Hinata a try, in case if things didn't work out between Sakura-chan and I."

Kurama sighed. "That doesn't sound like the stupid brat I grew up with."

"What do you mean?"

The fox sat right next to the log his old host was sitting on. "It sounds like you're giving up. The Naruto I know doesn't give up easily. Even if you were to move on, would you still be happy?"

"Of course not," Naruto said softly. "I'd feel miserable."

"Maybe if you give up, the both of you would end up feeling miserable."

The blonde growled at the fox, "Maybe Sakura-chan would be happy with Sasuke."

"Would she," Kurama began to question, "after all these years of being away from him, wouldn't you think the way she feels for him would change? Maybe right now, she is indecisive and doesn't know what she wants. Though my question for is, what do you want Naruto."

"Sakura-chan's happiness of course."

"And what would happen if her happiness was with you?"

Naruto looked back at the fire. "Nothing would make me happy than to have Sakura-chan by my side. It's the one thing I want more than becoming Hokage."

"Then why run away, instead of solving your problems back at Konoha?"

"I know that Sakura-chan is going through the same thing." He smiled gently. "I don't want her to force herself to be in love with me. Just like me, I want her to resolve her feelings without me being there."

"Heh, so that's why you want to spend some time apart from her?"

"Yeah," Naruto blushed a little bit and scratched his cheek. "I mean I just need some time away to grow up myself."

Kurama couldn't help but chuckle. "Seems like your starting to become a man."

"I want to become a man that I know my parents would be proud of. And hopefully I can return back to Konoha as a man that Sakura-chan would love." The blonde said with a smile as he looked up at the night sky.

* * *

><p>Emerald eyes gazed upon the night sky through a glass window. <em>"I wonder how the two of them are doing."<em> Sakura looked at the Team 7 photo in her lap. "I wonder how Naruto's doing." She whispered softly. "That idiot better return home soon," she said as a tear gently fell from her face.

**END**

**A short chapter, sorry guys. I truly don't believe that Naruto would have given up Sakura so easily, ugh it pained me. The fact that he just automatically decided to go after Hinata (a 110 minute movie will not give me enough conviction than 15 years of beautiful NaruSaku moments in the manga did) I mean I could understand he would just let her go for the sake of her happiness, but not without a fight. **

**I'm going to point this out now, there will be times Naruto will go back from being confident with his feelings to uncertainty. The reason being is because he's still unsure of Sakura's feelings, he won't understand if she has feelings for him now, or still has feelings for Sasuke. Naruto is done fighting physical battles, now I want him to fight the emotional ones. **

**Most chapters will be short because it's intention is to set up the stage for other chapters.**

**Anyways I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. **


	5. Chapter 5

**It Is What It Is**

**Gah, thank you all for your love and support. I seriously cannot believe that this story almost broke 70 reviews, and I had only put up 4 chapters.**

**First things first.**

**I deeply apologize for that rant I had put up the previous chapter. It made me seem really immature. Sometimes I rant and just have to write it down. I took it down because I acted really immature. For those who have been reading this story, I am really sorry for that rant. **

**Also I noticed some reviews that said "The Naruto I know wouldn't give up." I was like, "Where the hell are they seeing this quote?" So I had to re-read the chapter, and I felt really stupid because I had put it there XD. THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN I DON'T LOOK OVER MY CHAPTERS.**

**I am quite surprised that I haven't had anyone asked if I was going to be putting a lemon in the story, because I'm mostly known for making M-rated NaruSaku fics LOL. Ugh I really wanna start a NaruSaku family drabble fic, but I need to finish this one first. YES I AM ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE WHO WILL START ON ANOTHER FIC, AND COMPLETELY FORGET THE ONE THEY STARTED.**

**Disclaimer: I asked Santa for the copyrights of Naruto, he said no**

**Anyways this chapter (and maybe the next ones) will focus on Sakura. I wanted to resolve some of the parallels we had in the series. **

**ENJOY!**

BOOM

A giant crater was formed into the earth. As the debris cleared out, a young pink haired women was seen in the middle of it. Her first glowing due to the chakra flowing through her body.

"Shit, if I hadn't moved away from that hit, I would've been dead." A blonde haired women murmured. Her hair was put into four pony tails.

"Man this is troublesome." Muttered a dark haired man, whose hair was put into a single pony tail.

The rosette got up and charged towards the duo. Gloved fits swung at the blonde haired female. Temari was trying her best to avoid Sakura's fists. Jumping up in the air, the pink haired female dodged an oncoming shadow attack that Shikamaru was performing. Taking a kunai out of her pouch, Sakura threw it at the shadow user, successfully pinning his shirt to the ground.

Temari took this chance to use her fan to throw Sakura's balance off. Stumbling a bit, the medic nin found her footing, and slammed her foot as she enhanced it with chakra. This caused the Suna kuonichi to stumble back. Sakura took this opportunity and slammed her fist into the blonde's stomach.

Grinning at her victory, Sakura dusted off the debris off her gloves. "So who's next?"

"Take it easy, will ya forehead." Ino groaned out.

Grumble of agreements came from the rest of the group. Kiba was leaning against a panting Akamaru. Chouji was laying on the ground spread out. Sai was still nursing his bruised shoulder. And Tenten was slouching against a knocked out Rock Lee.

"Perhaps we could take a ten minute breather." Sai suggested.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Come on guys, you all agreed to train with me."

"Yeah, train, not get beat up." Kiba growled as Akamaru whimpered in agreement.

"Maybe you should take it easy, Sakura-san," Hinata walked towards the tired group and began to apply healing ointment.

Before the rosette could speak again, a messenger hawk made its way towards her and landed on her shoulder. Taking out the small piece of paper attached to the bird's leg, Sakura began to read the message.

"What does it say forehead." Ino asked as her friend was reading the piece of paper.

Folding it up the rosette allowed the hawk to leave. "Tsunade-sama needs to see me."

As she walked away, Ino couldn't help feel concern.

"I wonder if she's alright," the Yamanaka heiress asked.

"Maybe Sakura-san misses Naruto." Hinata pointed out.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"No doubt about that, ever since that idiot left, Sakura decides to beat us all up as a way to vent out." Kiba complained as his partner barked in agreement.

Sai pressed a finger to his chin and started to think. "I did read in a book that distance makes the heart grows fonder."

"Yeah well," Shikamaru looked up to the clouds and rest his head on his arms. "That idiot better get back soon back soon or else Sakura's going to drag his ass back home."

* * *

><p>The rosette reached the house her sensei lived at. It was close to the Hokage building but a bit closer to the wilderness. Taking a deep breath, Sakura knocked on the door.<p>

"Ah Sakura-san, welcome," Shizune greeted.

The second student of Tsunade bowed, "Shizune-san, it's great to see you too."

"Come in, come in, Tsunade-sama is expecting you."

Sakura smiled softly as she saw the sleeping figure of Ton-ton. It has been a while since she saw both Shizune and Ton-ton. The brunette led the rosette to the living room, in which Tsunade was outside of the balcony and looking at the forest.

Turning around, the former fifth Hokage smiled at her former pupil. "Ah Sakura you're here."

"Shishou," Sakura bowed respectfully, "you called for me?"

"Yes," grinned the Godaime, "have a seat, Shizune could you please get us some tea?"

"Of course Tsunade-sama," with that the brunette headed towards the kitchen.

The Godaime brought her attention to the pink haired women sitting across from her. "So how are you Sakura?"

The young women raised a brow, "I'm fine shishou."

"Are you," she placed her elbow onto the coffee table and rest her chin on her hands.

"Shishou I don't understand what you're trying to ask."

Tsunade's gaze hardened causing her former pupil to flinch a bit. "I'm going to ask you again Sakura. How are you?"

"I'm fine, shishou, I've been getting plenty of rest." Sakura growled.

"From what I'm hearing at the hospital, you've been doing a lot more rounds than normal. You've also been volunteering to take shifts from other nurses. And," the blonde Hokage said in a serious tone, "you've been training every day. To the point in which all of your friends have been sent to the hospital." Sakura flinched at her old sensei's tone. "It seems you haven't been getting any rest Sakura. Now tell me why."

"It's because I need to continue training."

"Why do you feel the need to continue training," Tsunade asked in a calm matter.

Emerald eyes looked down, "It's so I can finally be on equal footing with both Naruto and Sasuke."

The blonde raised a brow, "That's not the only thing is it," she said as she was hiding the smirk that was forming.

"Wh-what are you trying to say?"

This time, the smirk formed into a grin, "You miss Naruto don't you?"

"And Sasuke," stuttered the rosette.

"Yes, but you didn't act this way when the Uchiha left did you?" Sakura couldn't help but blush in embarrassment. "So it is true, you do miss Naruto."

"Okay, okay, I do miss that blonde idiot. Is that why you wanted to see me, just so you could embarrass me?"

"No," Tsunade cleared her throat, "I just wanted to speak to you about how you feel about Naruto."

"What about my feelings for him?" Now Sakura was curious.

"It's obvious that your feelings for him has grown."

"Of course it has, Naruto is one of my most treasured friends. I mean we've been through a lot and all of our obstacles had made our friendship stronger."

Tsunade sighed, "Are you sure the feelings you have for him is strictly friendship?"

"What are you talking about shishou," the rosette asked tilting her bed.

"What I'm saying Sakura, it seems to me the feelings you have for Naruto, maybe a bit _more_ than friendship."

Sakura frowned a bit, "Are you saying that I'm developing romantic feelings for him?"

"Perhaps, I mean the signs are all there."

"I have the tea," Shizune said as she gave the two a cup.

Tsunade thanked her and took a sip. "Sakura what is going on between you and Naruto, is very similar to what has happened between with me and Jiraiya."

"Meaning?" Now the rosette was confused.

"Perhaps you and Naruto could be what Jiraiya and I might have been."

Sakura frowned once more, not understanding what her mentor was talking about. "I'm going to head home now." She got up and looked at Shizune, "Thank you for the tea, even though I didn't drink any."

With that the rosette excited out of the small house. Shizune watched as the rosette left and turned her attention towards the former Hokage.

"Tsunade-sama?"

The blonde looked at her student, "My feelings for Dan were true," hazel eyes gazed upon an old photo. In the old photo was the deceased Third Hokage, Orochimaru, a younger version of Tsunade, and Jiraiya. "But sometimes when I look at Sakura, I see my old self. And when I look at Naruto, I see Jiraiya in him as well. My only wish is that the two sort out their feelings for one another before it's too late."

**END**

**This chapter was a wee bit difficult for me. I wanted to include the parallels Jiraiya and Tsunade have with Naruto and Sakura. Next chapter will include the parallels of Obito and Rin. **

**I hoped you all enjoyed this. On another note, chapters will begin to update a lot slower due to the fall semester nearing its end, so I have to bury my face in books, especially anatomy LOL. **

**Reviews are most welcome. Flames are not. **


	6. Chapter 6

**It Is What It Is**

**Hey guys, long time no see! I apologize for the long wait with this story. I ended putting a lot of projects on hold for college and ended up paying the price. I know many of you seen me update another story of mine "Me and You," reason being is, that story is a collection of one-shot so I didn't need any planning for it.**

**Anyways, now that I'm finally down with the fall semester, I can finally concentrate on this story! Although I might start another serious NaruSaku project. For some of you that read one of my newer one-shots called "Let's Try Again," I've already started planning things for multi-chapter of it. **

**I want to thank all the reviews I have received alongside the favorites and story alerts. Seriously you guys are the best. It's been ages since I've partaken in the NaruSaku community, and you all are making me feel back at home ^_^.**

**I'm focusing on the parallels NaruSaku has with ObiRin/ObitoxRin. Meaning, we will see Kakashi in here as well. Also for those who are asking about the MinatoxKushina parallel, that won't be until later on in the chapters.**

**Disclaimer: I claim no ownership for Naruto, for I have taken the Night's Watch oath**

**ENJOY!**

Sakura was taking a stroll on the quiet streets of Konoha. It was late afternoon, so many villagers started to get ready for the night. The rosette loved taking walks when the area became less crowded, it allowed her to think more. She stopped the moment she saw the sixth Hokage.

"Hokage-sama," she gave a polite bow.

"Now, now Sakura, no need to be so formal with me," Kakashi gave a slight wave.

The rosette blushed, "Sorry, it's just customary."

The former sensei of Team 7 gave his old pupil a small smile under his mask. "Would you like to join me for a stroll Sakura?"

"Um, okay," not sure why her former team leader asked her such a question.

The stroll together was a bit quiet until Kakashi spoke up.

"I wonder what Naruto's up to right now," the silver haired Shinobi questioned.

The rosette let out a small snort and crossed her arms over her chest. "Probably doing something stupid." Her eyes soften a bit, "Though I do hope he's okay."

"Hmm," Kakashi hummed, "sounds like you worry about him."

Sakura blushed at the Hokage's statement. "Well, it's because he's my friend."

Before Kakashi could say anything else, he stopped, "Well we're here." Sakura was curious to know why they stopped and realized where they were. The two stood right in front of the memorial tomb created for all those who died in battle and whose bodies couldn't be brought back to be buried. "You remember Obito right?"

"Yeah, he was an old friend of yours, wasn't he?"

The Rokudaime nodded, "We were on the same team, with Naruto's father being our team captain."

"Sensei, I don't understand why you're telling me this."

The silver haired jounin looked at the memorial with pained eyes. "What I'm about to tell you is the exact same situation you, Naruto and Sasuke had." Kakashi cleared his throat a bit. "Besides Obito and me being team mates, our third member was a girl, named Rin. Despite Obito being an Uchiha, he was a lot like Naruto, while I was more like Sasuke. Rin on the other hand.."

"She was like me, right?"

He smiled at his former student. "That's right, I was at the top of my class and Rin had a crush on me, while Obito had a crush on Rin. He loved her very much and would always try his hardest to gain her affection. Like Naruto, Obito also wanted to become Hokage as well." Kakashi let out a small sigh. "One day, our team were assigned on a mission during a war. Obito had obtained his Sharingan when Rin was captured. While we were able to rescue Rin and Obito gaining his clan's kekkei genkai, he still died."

"Kakashi-sensei, how did Obito die?"

Kakashi's eyes were filled with pain and regret. "He died pushing me to the side from a falling boulder. His left side was crushed, alongside he gave him Sharingan when I lost my right eye." He looked at his student with stern eyes. "I'm telling you this story, because right after Obito died, I had told Rin that he loved her very much. She cried regretting that she had pushed his feelings aside because she thought it was just a simple crush. Just like Jiraiya-sama, Obito died not telling the woman he adored so much, that he loved her."

Sakura knew how much it hurt Tsunade to learn that Jiraiya still loved her and that it was too late to do anything about it. Now she learned that how similar the Team 7 now was to the previous generations. The loveable idiot died without telling their true feelings for the female team mate they loved.

"I understand sensei, why you're telling me this," emerald eyes looked up, "because you don't want me and Naruto to make the same mistakes as well."

"Yes, I hope that the two of you will be able to sort out your feelings for one another when he gets back." Kakashi placed a gentle hand on his old student's head. "I don't want you two to grow up and becoming distant with one another. I don't think I can imagine a future in which you two no longer talk to one another."

Sakura smiled, "I don't think I can imagine such a thing as well sensei."

With a small nod, Kakashi left the rosette and walked away. Sakura walked up to the memorial and placed a gentle hand on it.

"I promise, that this Team 7 will have their happy ending. This is my promise of a life time."

**END**

**Sorry for such a short chapter guys, but I hoped you still enjoyed it none the less. Anyways, we'll have some Naruto in the next chapter. I also apologize if the pacing goes from slow to fast.**

**Reviews are welcome!**


	7. Chapter 7

**It Is What It Is**

**Hey guys, sorry for such a long wait on this story, I've been on Tumblr ever since I started winter break LOL. Anyways I want thank you all for staying with me, even if some of you hate me because of two of my recent one-shots for "Me and You."**

**I also want to thank for the almost 90 reviews! Seriously, you guys are the best. For those of you who don't know.**

**We'll be focusing on Naruto for this chapter and for several others as well. Pacing of the story may vary due to me losing lack of interest or just wanting to get it done, but I want to give this story an just ending. **

**Disclaimer: I claim no ownership of any characters used**

**Well let's get started everyone!**

They were finally here

_Suna_

Several of the gatekeepers were surprised (and somewhat startled because of Kurama) when they saw Naruto.

"Na-Naruto-san! What brings you here?" One of the gatekeepers asked.

The blonde rubbed the back of his neck. "Hehe, I thought I'd come over and visit."

"Does Gaara-sama know you're here?" Another asked.

"Nope," Naruto grinned, "I'm here on a surprise visit!"

They all sweat dropped.

"Well, at least let us inform the Kazekage that you're here."

"No need for that," they all turned around and saw Kankuro. "Yo Naruto."

"Hey Kankuro, long time no see!" Both Naruto and the puppet user shook hands.

The brother of the Kazekage just grinned and the two headed inside of the village.

"So Naruto, what brings you all the way to Suna?"

Naruto shrugged. "Change of scenery, ya know? I mean with the war over, I thought I'd might do some travelling."

After a while, the two finally reached Gaara's office. Kurama, deciding to stay back outside of the building, not wanting to see the events that were going to happen. Kankuro knocked on the door and was responded with a "come in." As he opened the door Naruto smiled. "Gaara, long time no see!"

Green eyes widened in surprised. "Uzumaki Naruto, what are you doing here in Suna?"

"Ah come on Gaara, is that anyway to treat an old friend?"

Gaara's eyes narrowed, "Kankuro, can you please leave me and Uzumaki-san?"

"Uh, sure," with that, the oldest sand sibling left.

Once his brother left the room, tension filled the air. "Alright Naruto, what's the real reason?"

"Wh-what reason do I need to visit a good friend of mine?" The blonde asked nervously.

"Is this about Sakura-san?" He could see his fellow jinchuriki twitch. "So it is about her."

Naruto sighed, "I don't know what do to Gaara." The Kazekage motioned his friend to have a seat. "I mean, she seemed happy with Sasuke back and even wanting to leave, but then all of a sudden wants to come with me to Suna."

"So your running away from your problems?"

"No, that's not it." He sighed once again. "I just needed to go somewhere else to think about everything."

Gaara smiled as he finally got his answer. "Well Naruto, if you do decide to stay, Suna welcomes you."

Naruto smiled back, "Thanks Gaara."

The moment the blonde left, Gaara frowned a bit. "I hope Naruto that everything will work out for you."

Kurama lifted his head as he felt Naruto's presence.

"_Why do I have some strange feeling that things are going to get complicated later on?"_ The nine tails demon mentally asked.

"Come Kurama, let's go find a hotel to stay at." Before the two headed off, they were met with a brown haired woman.

"Ah Naruto-san, Gaara-sama told me you'd be here." The blonde tilted his head in confusion. "Ah, I'm Matsuri."

"Ah Matsuri," he grinned, "it's been a while."

The young woman smiled, "Yes it has. Anyways, Gaara-kun told me to bring you to a hotel you'll be staying at."

Naruto noticed the change in suffix. "Gaara-kun?"

Matsuri blushed, "Ah yes, Gaara and I are dating."

"Congrats," the three of them headed off. "So what's it like dating Gaara?"

"Well, honestly, it's the best feeling in the world. He makes me really happy." Naruto smiled mentally as he could see the glow Matsuri was emitting. "I'm surprised you didn't bring your girlfriend."

"Gi-girlfriend," the blonde chocked, "what are you talking about?"

"The pink haired girl that was with you when you rescued Gaara-kun."

Naruto chuckled nervously, "Ehehe, Sakura-c han and I aren't dating."

"Really?!" The brown haired girl asked surprisingly. "You two seem really good together."

Once they reached the hotel, Matsuri bid the two farewell.

"Well Naruto-san, I hope one day, you'll be able to confess to Sakura-san." And with that, Matsuri left.

Naruto sighed and looked towards the distance. Kurama could feel the distress coming from his old host.

"_Hopefully gaki, you'll be able to settling things. You've finished fighting the physical battles, but now it's time for you to fight the emotionally ones."_

**END**

**If you can tell that I'm slowly losing interest raise your hands LOL**

**A shitty chapter is a shitty chapter**

**Next chapter, still focusing on Naruto. Than after his mini arc is done, we'll be on the parallels Sakura has with Kushina. Afterwards will be a surprise.**


	8. Chapter 8

**It Is What It Is**

**Ugh, I'm so sorry for the slow updates.**

**Haha you know what's funny, when I first came out with this story, I literally had like everything planned, and then all of a sudden shit happened *shrugs*. Yeah that's not the case.**

**The story is getting to a close. I'm going to try to write the chapters a bit lengthier than normal so the pace can be picked up a bit. I'm really sorry for having to rush *kind of* this story. **

**I'm getting a lot more active on my Tumblr, because I have a lot of story there that I haven't published here yet LOL. **

**This is going to be the last chapter of Naruto staying in Suna, next chapter will be back to Sakura, and afterwards Naruto's journey back to Konoha.**

**Disclaimer: I claim no ownership of any characters used**

**ENJOY!**

Naruto woke up the moment he felt the rays hitting his face. Yawning, he stretched out his tired limbs and looked out the window. It was funny on how different the scenery in Suna was compared to Konoha.

"_Nothing but empty barrens and sand."_ It was his second day here and he already missed his home. _"I wonder if Sakura-chan misses me too." _He shook his head and frowned because he believed that the pink haired girl was missing their other teammate.

Cerulean eyes scanned around the area to see if there was anything to do. Naruto was surprised on how early he had woken up, he frowned a bit, noticing most shops weren't opened yet.

"_Man, if only they had an Ichiraku's stand around here." _The blonde was craving for some ramen badly.

Keeping his head down, the Konoha shinobi continued to stroll through the streets.

"You seem hungry," looking up, he saw an old man finishing opening up his store, "why don't you come right in and have some breakfast?"

"Sure," Naruto happily replied and followed the man inside.

It was a small little restaurant and seemed very comfortable. The man directed Naruto to the bar they had, in which he sat down, the owner gave him a menu.

"Uh, you guys don't happened to have any ramen, do you?" Naruto asked.

The old man laughed. "I'm afraid not son. Why don't I just whip you up some good ol' bacon, eggs, sausage, and toast?"

"Sure," the blonde replied half-heartedly, still upset about not having ramen. In a few minutes, the owner came back with a steaming hot plate.

"So," he began as he poured Naruto a glass of orange juice, "you must be Uzumaki Naruto, am I correct."

"Yup," carefully, Naruto brought some of the eggs up into his mouth and ate them. Happily he took another spoonful. "How'd

The old man laughed, "The Kazekage-sama likes to talk about you. Whenever he wants a quiet place to relax and eat, he comes here."

"Yeah?"

"Yup, the Kazekage thinks highly of you boy," the owner paused for a moment, "you seemed a bit troubled, anything you want to talk about?"

Naruto took a sip of orange juice, "Well there's this girl."

"Ah, girl problems eh?"

"Yeah," the blonde scratched his cheek a bit, "I mean, it's kind of hard to explain." The old man made a 'go on gesture.' "Well, I have feelings for her, but she has feelings for someone else."

"So it's complicated huh?"

Naruto nodded, "I mean, I really do like her, but I don't want to push my feelings onto her."

"And what about the girl?"

"Hmm, well with her it's hard for me to understand. I mean the guy she likes, is like a brother to me and he was away for a while, so I thought when he came back, she'd be all over him."

"And was she?"

Naruto shook his head, "Which is the one reason I don't understand. I mean, you'd think they'd be dating the moment he returns, but nothing happened."

"Sounds to me, that this girl of yours is moving on."

"Huh?"

The old man laughed, "It's pretty normal for women to change their feelings about a person. Perhaps, the feelings she had for this guy was nothing but a crush, and decided to move on because she no longer has feelings for him."

"That doesn't make sense, I mean, she always liked him from the beginning." Naruto muttered.

"Yes, but feelings change over time, especially when two people are away from each other. Sometimes, someone can wait for their feelings to be returned, while others realize that they won't have their feelings acknowledged. Perhaps this girl of yours realized that she's not longer the same little girl you once knew."

Naruto pushed the plate aside and leaned on the table. "So are you trying to say, that she'd be happy with someone else?"

The old man nodded. "Humans have the ability to have their feelings change overtime, it doesn't make them a terrible person if they want to move on."

"But I haven't moved on."

"Do you want to?" Naruto shook his head. "Then maybe it's because the feelings you have for this girl is very strong. Perhaps what you feel for her is much stronger than what she felt for this other guy you spoke of. And who knows, maybe she'll return your feelings one day."

The blonde scoffed. "Trust me, she'll never return my feelings."

"And what makes you seem so sure?"

"It's because she never did." Naruto answered back. "All she did was reject me."

"Yes, rejection does come along with wanting feelings to be acknowledged. Perhaps during the years the two of you spent together, her feelings for you began to develop."

"I still don't think it's possible."

The old man smiled, "Well one day, you'll find out about how this girl really feels about you." Once Naruto finished with his meal, he began to reach into his wallet. "No need son, this one's on the house."

"Are you sure old man?"

The owner nodded. "Yup, and call me Stoick."

"Thanks Stoick-san."

The blonde left the small restaurant and continued to wander through the streets. The conversation he had with the old man, still fresh in his mind. Naruto wanted to believe the notion of Sakura returning his feelings one day.

"_It's impossible, Sakura-chan still likes Sasuke."_ Naruto kicked a small pebble. _"But maybe Stoick-jiji is right, maybe Sakura-chan could develop feelings for me." _He smiled inwardly.

During Naruto's stay in Konoha, each morning he would end into Stoick's restaurant and chat. There would be times when Gaara would come by to get some breakfast as well.

"So, how are you doing right now Naruto?" The young Kazekage asked.

The blonde finished chewing the piece of bacon before answering. "Hmm, alright I guess. I mean being here allowed me to clear my head." He took a sip of orange juice. "Though there are times when I'm still doubting."

"I'm sure Sakura-san is feeling the same way too Naruto. Maybe by the time you get back to Konoha, you'll finally get your answer."

"Yeah," Naruto looked down.

"Remember Naruto-kun, a women's heart is one of the world's biggest mysterious." Stoick pointed out as he cleaned an empty glass.

Gaara escorted Naruto back to the hotel so the blonde could pack up his things and head back to Konoha. As they arrived at the gates the two bid their farewells.

"Be sure to tell Temari her brothers say hi and miss her." Gaara requested as he shook his fellow jinchuriki's hand.

Naruto nodded, "Will do."

And with that, both Naruto and Kurama left Suna and began their journey to Konoha.

* * *

><p>"So what will you do when we get back," the demon fox asked.<p>

"Well, I'm torn between confronting Sakura-chan and waiting." His old host answered back.

Kurama looked at him. "Well she already knows about the whole forehead thing, why are you still hesitating?"

"I'm not," Naruto snapped, "it's just that, I don't know where we'll stand if I really confess to her."

Kurama sighed and lowered his ears a bit, "Well, hopefully you do it soon boy. You don't want it to be too late before you tell her your real feelings."

Naruto knew that Kurama was talking about Obito and Jiraiya. He wanted to pass his previous predecessors and confess to the girl he loved, instead of waiting until he died. As they walked through the forest, the pair heard some noises.

The blonde eyes widened at what he saw. "No way."

**END**

**CLIFFY! **

**Hahaha yay for extreme time skipping and all that shit! Next chapter will be Sakura, afterwards Naruto, and then…**

**KONOHA!**

**Stories getting to a close soon guys.**


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